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Thursday, 25 July 2013

Is it house-ruled D&D or a new game?

A current discussion over the odd74 forum deals with the question of what constitutes a new game and not a house-ruled D&D. I offered the following hypothetical games in whose case it may be decided whether they are D&D or something else. I firmly believe that the answers could help us establish a simple baseline to what D&D is and what it is not.

No. 1. Exactly like B/X but with a spell point system (but the point costs can be reverse-engineered into the original spell levels); thus, rules for spell point recovery, spell point-based magic item creation.

No. 2. Exactly like No. 1. but with spell schools and specialised wizards, for whom the spell point costs are also varied by schools and not only the original spell levels.

No. 3. Exactly like No. 1. but the spell point costs are not related to the original spell levels anymore.

No. 4. Exactly like B/X but no Hit Dice; instead, a flat number of HP is gained upon each level, and monsters' have a fixed number of HP, too.

No. 6. Exactly like B/X but uses d100 instead of d20. The probabilities are the same, though, only the die size is changed.

No. 7. Exactly like B/X but uses 3d6 instead of d20. The probabilities are sometimes drastically changed because the bonuses and penalties are not adjusted at all, only the die rolling mechanics.

No. 8. Exactly like B/X but uses a single die roll to determine the outcome of battle. Other sub-systems (spell casting, non-combat spells, thif skills, movement, advancement, etc.) are untouched.

No. 9. Exactly like B/X but character advancement is based on (a) "role-playing" (acting like your character, doing a voice, etc.), (b) clever solutions, and (c) witty remarks in-character that bring laughter to the table.

No. 10. Exactly like BX but adjusted to a 1on1 setup with no henchmen or followers. A single hero versus the world.

2 comments:

1-3. D&D (as long as you can convert magic-using D&D monster/NPC write-ups on the fly)4. D&D5. Nope. New game6-7. Assuming just to-hit and saves (things not on the character sheet), then D&D8. Nope. Ignoring too much9. Oh hell no. 10. D&D as only adventure material involved.

Just FYI, the original to-hit tables were written as percentages not d20. And the original OD&D saving throw was designed for a 3d6 roll rather than a d20 roll. They changed the die but not the table before printing.